10 Best Ever UK WWE Matches

7. Tyler Bate Vs Pete Dunne - UK Championship Tournament (January 2017)

Tyler Bate Pete Dunne
WWE.com

Concluding a spectacular showcase, the UK Championship final between Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate was more than just the culmination of the glorious two-night tournament.

Growing up just ten miles apart in Dudley and Birmingham respectively, Bate and Dunne had worked extensively with one another throughout their young careers on the West Midlands independent scene and beyond. Emerging through similar channels, the pair's work as partners and rivals for Preston City Wrestling, Progress, Chikara and Fight Club: Pro drew worldwide acclaim and ensured their most-viewed contest stood a chance of being one of their very best. It didn't disappoint.

Dunne had stolen the headlines over the weekend with his spectacular heel work, but it was surprisingly Bate's underdog journey that became the real story of the hard-hitting finale.

'The Bruiserweight' had decked Tyler following his draining semi-final victory over Wolfgang, ramming him into the steel ringpost and separating his shoulder. Bate subsequently fought from underneath throughout, and was seemingly unable to hit his double-underhook powerbomb finisher that had polished off the rest of the field.

Following a systematic deconstruction by Dunne, the pair paid homage to Undertaker/Shawn Michaels from WrestleMania 25 when Bate kicked out of Dunne's 'Bitter End' finisher to the shock and awe of the Blackpool faithful.

Eventually popping his shoulder back into its socket, Bate hit a pair of rolling kicks, before battling through the pain to finally score with the match, tournament and title-winning Tyler Driver '97 in an emotional climax to an incredible weekend.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett